Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun brought a defamation suit against attorney Dele Farotimi for suspected cybercrime, but the Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti dismissed it.
Afe Babalola consented to dismiss lawsuits against Farotimi following Ooni and the monarchs’ involvement, according to IREPORT247NEW on Monday.
The complaint, which arose from remarks Farotimi made during an interview on his book, Nigeria and its Criminal Justice System, specifically pertaining to Afe Babalola, the founder of Afe Babalola University, was formally withdrawn in court on Wednesday.
The prosecution had submitted a notice of discontinuance, which Samson Osobu, the complainant’s attorney, told the court during the hearing.
Citing the 2015 Administration of Criminal Justice Act’s Section 108(1)(2)(a), he said, “The prosecution, with the leave of this honourable court, seeks to withdraw the charge against the defendant and pray that the charge be struck out.”
He added that the decision was made in response to requests from Babalola himself to end the issue and interventions by well-meaning Nigerians.
Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), the defendant’s attorney, did not object to the withdrawal, thus Justice Babs Kuewumi dismissed the case.
Following the decision, Olumide-Fusika acknowledged that the case had been resolved in Ado-Ekiti but refrained from commenting on related issues that were still proceeding in the Ado-Ekiti Magistrate Court, Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, and Port Harcourt courts. He added that he had counseled Farotimi not to give interviews to the media about the issue.